Miami, Florida, will be the sweltering backdrop for a monumental clash between European powerhouses England and Norway on Saturday night.

The Vikings have emerged as the dark horses of World Cup 2026, seeing off five-time winners Brazil in the last 16 to continue a fairytale return to the competition for the first time since 1998, and winning the first two knockout matches in their history.

England stand in their way, seeking to make the semifinals for the fourth time and avoid an eighth elimination in the last eight.

But how will the outcome be decided?

Who will be golden boy in Golden Boot race?

For the first time in this tournament, two of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot race go head-to-head on the same pitch.

Stale Solbakken denied us that opportunity in the group stage when, despite scoring two goals in each of the opening wins over Iraq and Senegal, he left Erling Haaland on the bench against Kylian Mbappe and France, with qualification for the knockout stage already confirmed.

Haaland made up for lost time and scored the winner in the first knockout game against Ivory Coast before grabbing both goals in the 2-1 win over Brazil to reach the quarterfinals.

His seven in four appearances made it 14 straight Norway appearances in which he has scored, netting 27 overall in that run, while he now has 62 goals in 54 caps.

The 25-year-old lies one behind Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot and one ahead of Harry Kane.

Kane, 32, scored twice in the opening group game against Croatia, another in the win over Panama which sealed top spot in the group, then netted both goals in the late comeback to beat DR Congo in the Round of 32 and added a penalty, which turned out to be the winner, in the epic 3-2 win over Mexico.

While they share much in common, both having won the Premier League Golden Boot three times and both having enjoyed success in Germany, they have only shared the pitch twice before, in 2022/23.

Fittingly, they shared a win and a goal apiece as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City locked horns in the Premier League.

Everything suggests this could be another tight battle, but if one of these stars is able to come out on top in Miami, it could further their claim to be the greatest striker on Earth at present.

How do England stop Haaland?

Now, bear with me here … is the answer to start Dan Burn?

The 6’7” Newcastle centre-back was something of a surprise inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the World Cup. He only made his England debut shortly before his 33rd birthday in March 2025 and has made just four starts, all coming against Andorra and Albania in World Cup qualifying.

However, his cameo off the bench for the final 15 minutes against Mexico on Sunday night proved a masterstroke as he headed away numerous crosses and repeatedly put his body on the line as England sat low to defend their 3-2 lead with 10 men through the closing stages and 12 minutes of additional time.

While he is nowhere near as mobile as Haaland, and nine years his senior, he is two inches taller than the Norwegian and has enjoyed fruitful physical battles with Haaland in their previous meetings in England.

Haaland has played eight games against Burn since he joined Manchester City in 2022, six of those in the Premier League with two further meetings in the FA Cup and English League Cup.

In more than 10 hours on the pitch together, Haaland has scored only once, in August 2022, their first encounter.

For a striker who averages a goal every 73 minutes in international football, it’s a record worth paying attention to.

It’s also worth noting Haaland has scored only once in 406 minutes on the pitch against Ezri Konsa, across five matches, and that goal too came in their first meeting with Aston Villa in September 2022.

Given Haaland has scored 112 goals in 132 Premier League appearances across four seasons, winning the Golden Boot in three of those, those statistics are encouraging for Tuchel.

By contrast, Haaland managed seven goals in five matches played against Marc Guehi, before the Crystal Palace defender made the switch to become his teammate at Man City and, of course, has never played against John Stones, with whom he has played at the Etihad since he joined the club.

Odegaard vs Rice in midfield battle

Norway skipper Martin Odegaard carried the ball forward 61 times and completed 101 of his 109 attempted passes against Brazil – whose entire squad combined for just 331 passes at a vastly inferior completion rate.

Odegaard led by example as his side limited the Selecao to just 33.6 percent of possession, their lowest ever in a World Cup match, though that was still 0.4 percent more than England enjoyed in Mexico on Sunday, when they were camped in their own box for much of the final half-hour playing a man short.

It was also the lowest share of possession the Three Lions have enjoyed since records began and if they are to make it to the semifinals for the first time since 2018, and just third time since they won the World Cup in 1966, they will need more of the ball, which means disrupting Odegaard’s flow.

Declan Rice will likely know better than anyone what it takes to do that; the pair have shared the Arsenal midfield 117 times over the past three seasons and ended up guiding the Gunners to the Premier League title for the first time in a generation while also making the Champions League Final.

However, Rice has been hampered by neural pain for months, affecting his lower back and hamstring, which Odegaard will be only too aware of.

Rice played 3,094 minutes in the Premier League this season, and England midfield partner Elliot Anderson even more, while Odegaard played just 1,369, and that additional freshness might just prove key.

Who will handle the heat?

It’s fair to say Brits and Scandinavians are not known for their ability to adapt to the extreme heat and humidity they are likely to encounter in Miami on Saturday night.

Norway are arguably more accustomed to it than the English squad, after the opening five matches of the tournament; however, having played four of their matches outside in hot and humid conditions, whereas England have had it slightly easier thus far.

Norway’s opening game came in Boston against Iraq before a trip to New York/New Jersey for the win over Senegal.

They returned to Boston for the defeat to France, in which Stale Solbakken changed 10 players, before playing in enclosed conditions for the only time in the win over Ivory Coast in Dallas.

Their win over Brazil also came in the heat and humidity of New York/New Jersey.

England began under the roof in Dallas with the win over Croatia before a goalless draw with Ghana in Boston and a 2-0 win over Panama in New York/New Jersey, though it rained during both of those matches.

A trip to the air-conditioned confines of Atlanta followed in the Round of 32 for the win over DR Congo while the game against Mexico in Mexico City was played in far cooler conditions, despite a thunderstorm leading to a one-hour delay to kickoff.

The two hottest games of the group stage both came in Miami as Uruguay drew 2-2 with Cape Verde and 1-1 with Saudi Arabia.

It is forecast to be around 33C (91F) and 58 percent humidity in Miami on Saturday, with the kickoff at 5pm local time and the threat of thunderstorms a real concern.

Whoever deals with the conditions best could find themselves lining up in the semifinals on Wednesday night.

Nusa/Schjelderup vs England’s right-back

One of the key battles in Miami is set to come between Norway’s left flank and England’s right.

Chelsea right-back Reece James has missed the past three matches after sustaining a hamstring injury in the second group game against Ghana.

With Tino Livramento ruled out through a calf injury on the eve of the tournament, James is the only recognised right-back in the squad.

Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, John Stones and Jarell Quansah have all been deployed on the right of the defence since James was injured, while Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice even reverted there during the latter stages of the win over DR Congo.

James is hoping to be fit for the quarterfinal, a timely boost for Thomas Tuchel given Quansah is suspended following his red card in the second half against Mexico. However, if James is not passed fit, expect Konsa to fill the role he impressed in during the rearguard effort in the last match.

Whoever starts, they will likely need to be on top of their game. Antonio Nusa is a quick and tricky wide-man coming in off the left, and used his right foot to good effect with a superb curling strike into the top corner to open the scoring in the win over Ivory Coast in the Round of 32.

He has shown flashes in other matches too, but it was the introduction of Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup in his place at half-time of the clash with Brazil in the last-16 on Sunday which really changed the game.

The 22-year-old produced his best display of the tournament and provided the cross from which Erling Haaland headed the opening goal and then teed up the forward to lash his second into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to make the game safe. (Al Jazeera)

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